yes, it's still july

but the weather has been so hot lately, i thought i'd start this return to blogging with some pleasant reminders that it will not stay this way forever.

this past winter was caleb's first real experience with snow, he played with a bowl of the stuff when he was one but he was too young for me to really want him out there freezing his non-existent buns off. needless to say, he was pretty excited. we got our first taste at my parents' house, where I got caleb started with what i thought was a pretty good snowman given the amount of snow i had to work with and its powder fine consistency.

but daddy felt caleb deserved better and got out there to improve on my good start. and tell me folks, is that not EXACTLY the snowman you'd expect seb to make?

he also took him sledding along with my dad, i am glad i was not there, i would have probably said no way to the hill (you can't tell from this pic but it was long and steep!) and spoiled all the fun they had

when we got back home we only had to wait a few days before clarksville was covered with snow as well. see that snow shovel? i had to go to 4 stores to find it (at target i struck gold) because as several clerks told me, 'it doesn't snow down here.' REALLY? i beg to differ. needless to say, being one of very few snow shovel owners, we were very popular in the neighborhood that week.

i loved how the snow was so fine and driven that it went through the screen on the porch and literally blanketed everything right up to the door.

caleb was so anxious to get out there and play, and was not all that patient...

waiting...

waiting (and whining...)

and still waiting, until seb gave the all clear for caleb to come 'help' him shovel the driveway

all suited up and ready to go, with a scarf that mommy made just a little too long...

finally, sheer icy cold bliss

worth every numb finger and toe and chapped cheek

the snow lasted for days, and noah finally started taking naps long enough that i got to sneak out with caleb once seb went back to work and play in the back yard. you can't see the baby snowman (we were and still are on a bit of a mom and baby kick) on the other side but it's there.

that is the impression that results from tossing (with gleeful permission) a toddler into a thick snowdrift, followed by the toddler rolling out of the drift and pleading with you to do it again

and this is the face of a boy who just wanted to play with his mom while his new baby brother finally let them have some 'just us' time and who is telling his mom to put the camera away and play WITH him. which is why this is the first post in a long, long time.

seb has been in afghanistan for about 2 months now, and this blog has a new mission, which is to let him see from afar how his family is doing and what they are up to. so despite the fact that like most mothers, my life remains a never ending saga of too much to do and not enough time, i will be posting more often and more regularly, even if the result is nothing more than measly, out of sequence, and not well thought out posts because, well, that how life is most of the time.

seb, i know it's not recent, but i still thought you'd enjoy it! (and it was an easy and fast place to start!)